New road signs have motorists a bit befuddled

INDIAN LAKE Residents of the Adirondacks are used to seeing tourists pulled over on the side of the road, squinting anxiously at a dog-eared road map as they rotate it trying desperately to figure out where in heck they are. However, if you live in Indian Lake, you might have witnessed this occurrence more frequently as of late due to some confusing road signs that have been recently erected. One Indian Laker who wished to be kept anonymous said that he started noticing the screwy signs around the 24th of October. He originally had counted four of them in different areas around Main Street, but said that he believed that two of them had been corrected. Apparently the new road signs were put up following a period of road work on Main Street. When he asked some of the road workers about the mistakes, he said he was told that the state had ordered their company, EMI, to place the signs this way. Upon recent examination, there are six signs that appear to have been changed. Three consecutive signs on Main Street/Route 28 read S28. Three consecutive signs heading the other direction on Main Street/Route 28 read N28. Other Indian Lake residents cited that at least one of the signs newly reading S28 had for the last 15 years read W28, a confusing twist to say the least. Town Supervisor Barry Hutchins said that to the best of his knowledge the new signs were actually correct. I believe that what they are now is what they should have said all along. he commented. Brian Peretta, chief engineer for the state Department of Transportation in Indian Lake, confirmed that the new signs were technically correct, despite the change, although he did not know for sure which signs had been changed. All of the even numbered state routes in New York are termed as going either north or south. he said. Therefore, signs for Route 30 and 28, both of which run through Indian lake, may have been changed from saying east or west to north or south. Route 28, which takes a horseshoe turn at Blue Mountain Lake, actually heads both south and west out of Indian Lake. Anyone that lives here knows that route 28 heads north and south, but it goes east and west for a short time right in Indian Lake. commented Peretta. According to Peretta, there are a variety of new signs going up following construction on Main Street, including some that will indicate new crosswalks. For now, Indian Lakers will have to get used to the changes. But if you are driving through Indian Lake in the near future and are easily confused, you might be better off sticking to your own sense of direction (if you have one) than relying on the road signs.